The Moments in Between
by FriendLey
Summary: The moments in between Henry's quest and his returning home triumphant. What was Elizabeth doing while she waited on land? What about Will? Willabeth. one-shot.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean or any of its characters used in this story. What is written here is for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended and no profits are being made from this story.**

Twelve year-old Henry William Turner tiredly makes the long trek back up to his house. His heart is still hammering in his chest, as it always does whenever he successfully escapes a brush with death.

Tonight marks his third attempt at contacting his father. The first was quite by accident, having almost drowned when he was ten years old.

Henry had been picked up by _The Flying Dutchman_ and her captain. His father urged him to go back home for Henry was not yet completely dead and was able to go back to the land of the living if he so chose.

The boy _did_ choose to go back and he woke up to the sounds of his weeping mother who kept muttering "please don't leave me" over and over.

Unfortunately for Elizabeth Turner, her son could not forget the thrill of having seen his father so soon and before the second decade was even up. He went underwater once more, this time to test a theory.

His theory was proven correct and Henry saw his father again and this time even met his grandfather.

Will Turner, however, was furious—furious at his son for being so reckless with his life at such a young age, angry that he would subject his mother to such heartache.

The ghost ship spat the boy back to living waters where Henry, stubborn and determined, proceeded to find any way to free his father from his curse.

It has been a good 30 minutes since Henry was sent back to the land of the living for the third time. Despite his wet clothes and hair, his shivering body and shattering teeth, Henry does not acknowledge the cold; he can barely feel it.

In place of the cold, all Henry feels is anger and frustration.

 _I don't understand,_ he thinks. _Why doesn't father or mother want me breaking the curse?_

He reaches his house, silently climbs up his open bedroom window, and lands safely inside his room.

He tugs his wet clothes off and throw it hard on the ground with a growl. "If father won't find it, I will!"

It is only then that he notices a pair of feet right next to his clothes. He doesn't need to look up to know whose feet they are.

His mother is sitting on the edge of his bed, having discovered his disappearance and decided to wait for him to return.

The expression on Elizabeth's face is enough to erase the anger that Henry is feeling and in its place come guilt… and sorrow… and despair.

Looking down at her son, Elizabeth bites back the scolding that rises in her throat. She sees the conflicting emotions in his eyes. Henry is usually so happy when he returns from seeing his father, but at present there is only anguish.

Elizabeth cannot bring herself to add to his unhappiness and so, opens up her arms to him. Henry rushes to his mother's embrace and cries.

He cries for his father…for his mother…for himself. He cries at the cruelty life dealt him and at that moment, in the warmth of his mother's love, he makes a promise—he will see his father made free.

 _I will find that trident, father._

…

Henry is 18 when he takes his leave of his mother and of his boyhood home. No amount of persuading from his mother will convince him to stay.

He is determined to join a crew and begin his quest, the quest for that trident that he's been obsessed with since childhood.

Just like Will, Elizabeth doesn't believe it exists, to even _hope_ for it and only have said hopes dashed is too much to bear. She would rather focus on what she knows to be real: that her husband will be returning in two years, that her son is growing up to be a respectable lad.

"You'll write to me?" Elizabeth asks him, trapping Henry's face between her hands, his cheeks squished together.

"Yes, mother. I promise." Henry looks so much like his father. Even his cheeky grin brings Elizabeth back to her days of courtship. "I'll even send you some treasure if I find any."

"I have no need for treasure, cursed or otherwise," Elizabeth says, running her hand over Henry's hair.

She knows she cannot prevent him from leaving. He is her son, Will's son, the son of pirates. He longs and is destined for his own adventures, that much she knows. Still, being her only son, Elizabeth cannot be faulted for wanting to delay his leaving.

"You be careful out there, Henry. I love you."

Henry allows his mother one more hug. "I love you too, mother."

Later, when Elizabeth is alone, she takes out a chest from under the loose tiles of her bedroom floor. She does not know if the house is merely silent or if it is because she is so in tune to Will's heart, but she can hear the strong thumping coming from inside the chest.

She doesn't unlock it, but sits the chest beside her on her bed.

"He's gone, Will," she says. "Gone to free you."

Elizabeth knows her husband can hear her. He told her as much when they were reunited the first time.

"You and I both know there's no stopping him. He's stubborn. He gets that from you." Elizabeth chuckles, imagining Will's look of protest and him telling her that between the two of them, she's the more stubborn one. "Maybe from the both of us," she amends.

"He'll make a great crewman, I have no doubt about that." She thinks back to the book on sailing that Will wrote for Henry. "He almost forgot your book. Wouldn't leave without it… It's your turn to watch over him now, Will. "

Elizabeth caresses the lid of the chest. "I miss you." She presses a light kiss on it. "I love you."

…

 _Dear mother,_

 _Well, I'm writing to you just like I promised. Thanks to your forged letter of recommendation, I was accepted into the British Navy without question or further investigation on my personal history._

 _Father's book as well as your training have properly prepared me for life at sea. Unfortunately, I haven't had much opportunity to show off seeing as they don't make me do much. I mostly tie the masts, clean up the mess, run for supplies. I won't dwell any longer on what a sailor's life is like—you know it all too well, Pirate King that you are._

 _Oh! You'll be pleased to know that HMS Victoria hasn't had any run in with pirates. So, I am in no danger of passing into the land of the dead and seeing father ahead of schedule. Although, sometimes I have to admit that doing just that is quite tempting. Just kidding, mother! I'm not going to kill myself, I promise._

 _Now, onto the most awaited part of this letter. No, I have not yet met a girl who will whisk me away on my own pirate adventure. I haven't had much opportunity to go gallivanting about on my days off. I know you're enjoying this too much. Wipe that smirk off your face, woman._

 _What do I do on my free days, you may ask. Of course, I spend most of my time doing research. It's not easy looking for a mythical trident, you know. Not everyone attracts legends like you do._

 _On a much more serious note: I miss you._

 _P.S. The food here is the worst._

 _Your most loving son,_

 _Henry._

 _..._

There is a new batch of souls awaiting Will on the deck of his ship. Ever since Elizabeth told him of their son joining the navy years ago, Will fears his son will be among the dead, that he will be too far gone for Will to bring back to the living.

But his face is not among the rescued souls. Bootstrap's curt shake of his head only confirms it.

Will lets out a breath of relief. He addresses the dead, explains to them what is happening, and gives them time to come to terms with it all. There are usually some who are unable to accept that they have died, or a sailor who cannot believe that the _Flying Dutchman_ is, in fact, real.

This group, in particular, is composed of British Naval Officers and from the snippets of their conversation, they seemed to have had an encounter with Capitan Salazar's ship.

Salazar has always been a thorn on Will's side, killing innocent sailors once they get too close to the triangle.

"We almost had them too!" cries one officer. "The witch, the Turner boy, and Sparrow!"

Will is beside the man in mere seconds. "What did you say?" He grabs the officer by his uniform and asks, "Who were you chasing? Who were you after?"

The officer is too scared and shocked to reply and only manages a squeak.

"Answer me!" orders Will, shaking the man. "You said you almost caught someone named Turner."

"H-Henry Turner," stammers the officer.

 _Henry, what did you do?_

"What charges are laid against him?" demands Will, his grip on the officer's clothes growing tighter and tighter. "What charges?!"

Finally, a voice behind Will replies, "Treason, evading arrest, and orchestrating the escape of fellow criminals."

Will releases the sailor and turns to find someone, who by the number of medals on his collar, must be the officers' superior.

The man walks closer to Will, fixing him a curious stare. "Now, what would the Captain of the _Flying Dutchman_ want with Henry Turner?"

"It's none of your business." Will rises to his full height, towering over the superior officer. "But I would know the entire tale if you expect me to escort any of you to the other side."

…

Will searches the ocean frantically for his son, dead or alive. Henry has gotten caught up in Jack Sparrow and Capitan Salazar's feud and no good can come of it.

"He's chasing after a trident that doesn't exist!" Will slams a fist down the table in his cabin. "And for what?"

"To save you, to free you," answers his father. Bootstrap puts a hand on Will's back. "It wasn't too long ago when _you_ were just as desperate to free _me_ from servitude."

"That was different," Will grumbles, shrugging his father's hand away. "I knew you could be saved." He shakes his head. "But there's no saving me. Only death."

Will shrinks down to his cot, head buried in his hands. "Elizabeth," he gasps, tears finally springing out of his eyes. "She told me to watch out for him. Now, she's going to lose him too. She—" Will is suddenly in want of air, of oxygen. He pants and wheezes.

Bootstrap is quickly beside him. "William? What is it?"

"I—I—"

And then Will feels it.

 _Thump._

 _Thump._

 _Thump._

And Will knows… Somehow… Henry did it.

Slowly, Will's lungs expand and there is air in him once more…there is _life_.

"He did it," Will manages to whisper.

"What?"

Will stands, slowly reacquainting himself with his heart. He grabs his father's hands and places it on his chest.

"Do you feel that? He did it! Henry found it!"

Bootstrap lets out a triumphant laugh. "Ha ha! He did it, son! He did it." He and Will hug. Afterwards, they go out to the deck to share the news.

They are free.

…

Henry is yelling and running in the direction of his house.

He reaches the front door and there is Elizabeth, looking bewildered at finding her son at home.

"Mother!"

"Henry!" Elizabeth pulls her son in for an overdue embrace. She is so happy to see him that she does not notice the young woman standing shyly a few feet back.

Pulling away momentarily, Elizabeth studies Henry, takes his face between her hands and looks for any scars, any wounds. When she finds none, she kisses his forehead, his cheeks, and then hugs him once more.

"You're home! You came back! What a lovely surprise! You must tell me everything. Where you went, what you saw, who you…" Elizabeth trails off as her eyes land on the young woman.

"Oh, hello," Elizabeth says, releasing her son.

Henry immediately takes up the introductions.

"Mother, this is Carina Smy- Barbossa. Her name is Carina Barbossa and she helped me find the trident!" Henry exclaims. "She helped me free father."

Carina gives Elizabeth a smile but the latter is hardly aware of it.

Elizabeth has a hand to her mouth in silent shock.

"Let's go," Henry takes his mother's free hand, tugging at it. "To the cliff. He's coming, mother. He's coming home."

Elizabeth shakes her head and pulls her hand away. Her eyes start to glisten with tears. "This is a cruel trick, Henry. Not funny at all."

Henry grabs his mother by the shoulders, desperate for her to believe him. "It's not a trick! Mother, please, listen to me. I know you don't want to believe it, I know it's too good to be true, but it _is_ real. We found the trident and we broke the curse." He glances desperately to Carina. "Tell her."

"Y-yes," nods Carina. "We followed the stars and sailed to the island. We divided the trident and broke every curse there is on sea. Your son is magnificent, Mrs. Turner. Not once did he give up. Don't you give up too."

Elizabeth eyes them both warily. She wants to believe them. She really does. But she cannot bring herself to do so.

 _It's too much!_

She turns on her heels, runs back inside the house and up to her bedroom.

She frantically pries at the loose wooden tiles on the ground and it takes some time. Her hands are shaking and she's barely caught her breath.

Finally, the wooden tile is removed and she lifts up the chest, clutching it close to her heart.

 _Will!_ Elizabeth presses her eyes shut. _Henry told me— He said that you're free. But I can't believe it. He's convinced himself of it somehow. He believes you're on your way home. Oh, Will. This curse is too much to bear. It's turning us all mad!_

Elizabeth stays that way for a moment, clutching and crying at the chest.

It is only when she calms and her sobs quiet down that she hears it… or rather, does not hear it.

She presses her ear to the chest, trying to catch the familiar thump of her husband's heart, but it is not there.

Trembling, she takes out the key hanging around her neck and opens the chest.

Her breath catches in her throat and she is too stunned to move.

The chest is empty.

It can only mean one thing.

 _Henry was telling the truth,_ says a voice in Elizabeth's head, a voice that sounds so much like Will.

 _Get up, Elizabeth,_ the voice urges. _Get up._

Shakily, Elizabeth rises to her feet.

 _Run, Elizabeth._

 _Run to me._

 _Meet me in the cliff._

And Elizabeth runs… she runs out of the house… out to the cliff… and into her husband's arms.

 **A/N: I need a potc 6 that is just total willabeth, jack sparrow foolishness, and no curses.**


End file.
